Dún Aonghasa
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| Dún Aonghasa | |
|---|---|
| Dun Aengus | |
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| Type | hill fort/promontory fort |
| Periods | Bronze Age, Iron Age, early Medieval |
| Location | Inis Mór |
| Region | Ireland |
| History | |
| Built | from 1100 BC |
| Site notes | |
| Material | limestone |
| Area | Template:Cvt |
| Public access | yes |
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| Reference no. | 23[1] |
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Template:Langr (unofficial anglicised version Dun Aengus[2]) is the best-known of several prehistoric hill forts on the Aran Islands of County Galway, Ireland. It lies on Template:Langr, at the edge of a 100-metre-high (330 ft) cliff.[3]
A popular tourist attraction, Dún Aonghasa is also an important archaeological site.
History
It is not known exactly when Template:Langr was built, though it is now thought that most of the structures date from the Bronze Age and Iron Age.[4] An early Iron Age bird-head Fibula (brooch) was discovered in a wall of the site in 1839.[5] T. F. O'Rahilly surmised in what is known as O'Rahilly's historical model that it was built in the 2nd century BC by the Builg following the Laginian conquest of Connacht.[6] Excavations at the site indicate that the first construction goes back to 1100 BC, when rubble was piled against large upright stones to form the first enclosure. Signs of human habitation and moulds for casting bronze were found and dated towards the end of the Bronze Age in Europe (around 900 BC).[7] Around 500 BC, the triple wall defenses were probably constructed along the fort's western side.[8]
Its name, meaning 'Fort of Template:Langr', may refer to the pre-Christian god of the same name described in Irish mythology, or the mythical king, Template:Langr. It has thus traditionally been associated with the Template:Langr.
Form and function
The fort consists of a series of four concentric walls of dry stone construction, built on a high cliff some one hundred metres above the sea. At the time of its construction sea levels were considerably lower and a recent RTÉ documentary estimates that originally it was 1000 metres from the sea. Surviving stonework is four metres wide at some points. The original shape was presumably oval or D-shaped but parts of the cliff and fort have since collapsed into the sea. Outside the third ring of walls lies a defensive system of limestone spikes, known as a Script error: No such module "Lang"., planted in upright or slanting outwards positions in fissures of the limestone are still largely well-preserved (cheval de frise can also be found in County Clare at Ballykinvarga).[9] These ruins also feature a huge rectangular stone slab, the function of which is unknown. Impressively large among prehistoric ruins, the outermost wall of Dún Aonghasa encloses an area of approximately 6 hectares (14 acres).
Today
The walls of Template:Langr have been rebuilt to a height of 6m and have wall walks, chambers, and flights of stairs. The restoration is easily distinguished from the original construction by the use of mortar.[citation needed]
There is a small museum illustrating the history of the fort and its possible functions. Also in the vicinity is a Neolithic tomb and a small heritage park featuring examples of a traditional thatched cottage and a poteen distillery.[citation needed]
Nearby sites
Template:Langr ('Black Stone Ringfort"), Template:Langr ('Fort of the Template:Langr'), and Template:Langr are similar prehistoric sites on Template:Langr.[10] Template:Langr ('Fort of Conchobar') is located on nearby Template:Langr.
Image gallery
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Interior of Template:Langr
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The cliffs at Template:Langr
See also
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References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."National Monuments in State Care: Ownership & Guardianship: Galway" (PDF). National Monuments Service. 4 March 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ^ Placenames Database of Ireland
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.De Breffny, Brian (1983). Ireland: A Cultural Encyclopedia. London: Thames and Hudson. pp. 77–78.
- ^ New Oxford History of Ireland
- ^ De Breffny, pg. 78.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.O'Rahilly, T. F. (1984). Early Irish History and Mythology. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. ISBN 978-0-901282-29-3.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Meehan, Cary (2004). Sacred Ireland. Somerset: Gothic Image Publications. p. 621. ISBN 0 906362 43 1.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Unpublished Excavations: WESTERN STONE FORTS". Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
- ^ De Breffny, pg. 78.
- ^ Meehan, p. 622.
External links
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- Short YouTube video of the Dun Aengus cliff face
- Dun Aengus website Script error: No such module "webarchive".
- Dun Aengus page for the Aran Islands website
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